No Knead Sourdough Cheese Bread, adapted from Jim Lahey's Recipe

(about a 1 lb loaf)

My curiosity got the better of me when I kept coming across images of no knead bread based on Jim Lahey's recipe. When I finally decided to give it a try, I understood why people were raving about this bread. This is possibly the best loaf of bread I have ever made at home. It had a wonderful crust, chewy texture, and this one had a nice sour tang to it because I extended the time, to over 48 hours.

It will be a while before I try anything else. I'd like to make this a few more times; with  kalamata olives... prosciutto and caramelized onions....  roasted garlic and rosemary....   I might swap out some of the water for olive oil, or yogurt.. lots of choices.

Adapted from Jim Lahey's Recipe
2 tbsp organic rye flour
2 3/4 - 3 1/3 cups unbleached flour
1/4 tsp dry yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups spring water

2/3 cup Swiss cheese, cut into 1/2" cubes

olive oil for coating


(Day 1, morning) Combine the rye flour, 2 3/4 cup unbleached flour, yeast and salt in a large glass bowl. Make a well in the centre and  add the water. Stir until well combined. Cover the top with a cheese cloth and set in a draft free place in a room with a temperature of about 70-75°F. for about 12-14 hours.

(Day 1, evening) The volume should have doubled and the dough should look bubbly. Stir the mixture down, cover with the cheese cloth and allow to sit another 9-12 hours or so.

(Day 2, , morning) Again the dough will have doubled and look quite bubbly.  Stir down and cover with the cheeseckoth and leave sit 9-12 hours or so.

(Day 2, evening) Stir down and stir in 1/4 cup of unbleached flour. (I did this at this point because the dough was beginning to look a bit soupy). Cover with the cheesecloth and allow to sit another 9-12 hours or so.

(Day 3) Sprinkle a small amount of flour onto a piece of baking parchment paper. Add the cheese cubes to the dough and stir down. The dough will probably have a pronounced sourdough smell at this point.

Sprinkle a small amount of flour over the dough. Flour your hands and place the dough onto the parchment paper. Shape the dough into a ball, tucking the ends underneath it. Cover it with the cheesecloth and allow to rise 2-3 hours, or until it looks like it's doubled in volume.

Brush the top lightly with olive oil.

Place a Le Creuset cast iron dutch oven (this seems to work best from what I've read) into your oven and turn on the heat to 450-500°F. (My Breville counter top convection oven will only allow me to go to 450°, but the bread turned out fine).

When the pot is good and hot, carefully pull it out and place the parchment paper with the dough into pot and cover with lid. Bake for about 25 minutes.

Remove the lid and bake an additional 15-20 minutes or until the crust is a nice brown OR turn on the broiler for 3-5 minutes until the top of the loaf is nicely browned; this is what I did. In all honesty, I was a bit worried baking it any longer than that because the loaf seemed done to me, and I was concerned about drying it out.

Allow the loaf to cool at least an hour before cutting into it.

Daring Baker Challenge, April 2010, British Suet Pudding; Steak & Kidney

(about 6-8 servings)

This month's challenge was hosted by Esther from The Lilac Kitchen.  She proposed making steamed puddings using suet, and we had the choice of sweet or savory, using one of two methods.

Initially I thought a lot about making a traditional plum pudding, and then toyed with the idea of making something with ginger, pear and caramel. In the end I made a steak and kidney pudding with mushrooms, pearl onions and red wine.

I ended up cheating. Although I boiled my pudding for 5 1/2 hours, the crust refused to turn brown, so I popped it in the oven and left it there for about 20 minutes until I liked the colour.

Dallas in many respects can be lovely, but when it comes to finding certain items, I begin to realise just how pedestrian a place this can be.  Kidneys? OMG! What a fiasco!

I called two Whole Foods markets and neither had any; the second fellow I spoke with, asked me incredulously "kidney beans or kidneys? I called a butcher who had been given the "Dallas Butcher of the Year" award a couple of years back and he told me these days, that kind of stuff generally got packed up and shipped to pet food manufacturers. I called at least a dozen places before hitting the jackpot at Central Market.  I had to special order them, and three whole days later, they did not arrive. /cry

Then I remembered Kuby's, the German meat market and deli, and gave them a call. They had veal kidneys! I was way too excited over these kidneys, but heh, this is Dallas.

We were given a few basic recipes which I used as a guide, ending up with the following, once I was done:

Suet Pastry
3 1/2 cups of unbleached flour
1 tsp baking powder
salt
1 3/4 cups suet
3/4 -1 1/4 cup water

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add the suet and mix gently with your hands.

Add 3/4 cup water and stir. Keep adding the water in small amounts until the dough forms into a ball. Knead a few times and then cover and set aside.

Steak and Kidney Filling
1/2 lb beef, veal or lamb kidneys, (anything you can get your hands on!)
2 cups water
1 tbsp vinegar

1 1/2 lb beef chuck, cut into 1 1/2" cubes
1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried thyme
small handful fresh parsley, chopped
salt and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper
1 cup pearl onions, peeled
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 cup beef broth
1 cup red wine


Remove the membranes from the kidneys and then slice them lengthwise and remove the fatty cores. Place them in the water and vinegar for about an hour. Remove, pat dry and cut into small cubes.

Place the kidneys, beef, onions and mushrooms into a bowl. Sprinkle the flour, thyme, parsley, salt and pepper over the meat and toss to mix.

Remove about 1/4 of the suet pastry and reserve that for the top crust. Roll out the remaining dough and line a well buttered 1 1/2 quart  pudding basin or deep casserole. Leave about an inch of pastry hanging over the edge.

Add the meat and vegetable filling.

Combine the beef broth and wine and pour that over the meat.

Roll out the remaining piece of dough and place over the top. Turn up the overlapping pieces of dough and seal to prevent the gravy from escaping while the pudding is steaming.

Top with a piece of foil or parchment paper. Tie it down with string.

Place the pudding into a *large pot and add enough boiling water to come up about 2/3 of the way up the pudding basin. Cover and boil for about 5-6 hours, checking every hour so to see if you need to top up the water.

*The pudding basin itself shouldn't touch the bottom of the pot. You can place it on top of an inverted plate or a scrunched up piece of foil, or something that can withstand the boiling water.

The pudding will be done when the suet pastry has turned a light golden brown. From what I've read, it's almost impossible to overcook a pudding**.

**I left mine to boil for 5 1/2 hours, after which time the pastry wasn't changing colour, so I popped it into the oven for 20 minutes at 375°F.

Braided Sweet Raisin Bread

(1 loaf)

This bread is wonderful with marmalade, honey or anything sweet. If there's anything left over, it makes a nice french toast.

My mum will probably read this and ask me why I added the baking soda to a yeast bread, (she told me recently she has an aversion to the stuff). All I'll be able to tell her, it's habit. I usually add a bit of baking soda whenever I use buttermilk or something acidic to neutralize the acid.

I make this bread in an 11 cup food processor, with minimal kneading by hand.

bread
1 cup buttermilk, warmed, but not too hot
1 1/2 tsp dry yeast
3 tbsp sugar
3 - 3 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
1/2 cup raisins*,  see note at bottom
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp lemon zest,  minced
1/2 tsp ground cardamon
1/4 cup butter, softened

1 large egg

glaze (optional)
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp water
1  tbsp coarse sugar

Add the yeast and sugar to the buttermilk and let stand for about 5 minutes until the yeast has dissolved.

Place 3 cups of flour (to start) in the bowl of your food processor fitted with the dough blade. Add the raisins, baking soda, lemon zest and cardamon. Pulse a few times to combine.

Add the buttermilk mixture, butter and egg. Run the food processor with the chute open. If the dough doesn't leave the sides of the bowl, then slowly add a tablespoon of flour at a time until it barely does. I try to add the least amount of flour so that the dough is on the "wet" side.

Run the food processor an additional 3 minutes. The dough should feel soft and slightly sticky. Butter your hands and knead on a very lightly floured surface for another 3 minutes until it looks smooth and elastic.

Place onto a buttered dish, cover and allow to double in size; about 1 - 1 1/2 hours.

Punch down, and divide into 3 equal pieces. Roll out into ropes and braid, tucking in both ends.

Allow to rise for at least 30 minutes; preferably longer if you want it to double in size. I'm usually impatient at this point and don't mind a denser loaf.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Combine the egg and water and brush over the top of the loaf. Sprinkle with the sugar.

Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until it sounds hollow when tapped.

* I add the raisins at the very beginning and they do break up while the dough gets it's workout in the food processor. I like my bread this way. If you prefer your raisins to remain whole, then don't add them until you remove the dough from the food processor. Work them while you are kneading.

Smoked Paprika Cheese Spread

(about 1 cup)

Last year my sister sent me a tin of Spanish smoked paprika. I had never tried it before, but I loved it immediately.

This past year I've experimented a bit with it, trying it out in various dishes. It's rather nice in this cheese spread. The hint of cinnamon seems to intensify the smokiness and the tiny amount of cayenne gives just a hint of heat on the back of your tongue.

Sometimes I add a bit more lemon juice or capers if I'm in the mood for this to be slightly more tart; it's very nice either way.

8 oz neufchatel cheese
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 clove garlic
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1/8 tsp cinnamon
a pinch or two of cayenne
salt to taste

1 tbsp capers
1 tbsp green onions, sliced

Place everything except the capers and onions into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Adjust the seasoning, if necessary.

Scrape down the sides. Add the capers and onions and pulse just until they are combined.

Frankfurter Kranz Torte

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(8-10 servings)

I asked my mother to make this for me when I was a child; for a birthday I think it was. I ate so much of it, I made myself sick and couldn't look at another one for many years. Recently I have been thinking about this cake again.

A Frankfurter Kranz is a circular lemon-scented cake (Kranz means wreath/garland/crown) with rum flavoured buttercream frosting, and Krokant (almond or hazelnut praline).

My mum emailed me the recipe for her version of buttercream made with pudding instead of the (heaven forbid!) 10 egg yolks or so the traditional buttercream recipes call for. She mentioned the trick to a smooth buttercream is covering the cooling pudding with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming and making sure all the ingredients are at the same temperature when it's time to combine them. After licking the spoon when I finished making the buttercream, I thought this was still a heart attack in the making. :p

This cake is usually made in a smooth tubular pan which I don't have, so I used a small 6 cup bundt pan instead. I also made a type of sour cream pound cake which I doubt is traditional, but it's a nice moist cake I like.

Buttercream
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 1/4 cups milk
3 tbsp rum

3/4 cup unsalted butter, 1 1/2 sticks


Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a saucepan. Whisk in the cornstarch and then add about 1/2 cup of the milk. Set over medium-low heat, and slowly whisk in the remaining 1 1/2 cups of milk. Cook, whisking all the while until the mixture simmers and thickens.

Remove from heat and whisk in the rum. Cover the surface of the pudding with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming as the pudding cools; smooth it across the surface with your hands to remove any air pockets.

Leave on the counter to cool. Leave the butter on the counter as well, so that both pudding and butter are at room temperature when it's time to finish making the buttercream.

Beat the butter in a bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in the pudding about 1/4 cup at a time until it's all finished.

* If for some reason your buttercream curdles, it's possible to save it. Place the buttercream into the microwave and heat for 15-25 sec. Stir until the buttercream is smooth. Allow it to cool completely before attempting to cover the cake or to pipe it.

Cake
2 cups cake flour
1 1/2  tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp lemon zest, finely minced

2 egg whites, room temperature (gives you more volume)
1/4 tsp lemon juice

1/2 cup butter, (1 stick)
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups sour cream, regular

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Butter and flour a 6 cup tubular cake pan. Set aside

Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and lemon zest. Mix well.

Beat the egg whites and and add the lemon juice when they begin to get frothy; continue beating until they look very fluffy and they hold their peaks (being very careful not to over beat) and set those aside.

In an electric mixer at medium-high speed beat the butter until softened and then slowly add the sugar and continue to beat until the mixture is nice and fluffy. Beat in the egg and then the sour cream.

Add about half of the flour mixture and stir until it's combined, then stir in the remaining flour mixture.

Fold in the reserved beaten egg whites. The cake dough will be on the thick side; not at all runny.

Spoon the cake batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until the cake is done.

Allow to cool completely.

Krokant
1 tbsp butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup slivered almonds or chopped hazelnuts

Lightly oil a cookie sheet. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the sugar and stir until it's dissolved and bubbles. Stir in the nuts and continue to stir a few more minutes.

Remove from heat and spread out on the cookie sheet.

When it's cooled, break it up into pieces and pulse those a few times in a food processor. Be careful not to reduce this to a powder. You just want rough bits. Alternately you could put the pieces into a bag and crush them with a rolling pin.

glaze
1/4 cup cherry or raspberry jam, (something red)
1/4 cup rum

cherries for decoration

Heat the jam until it's runny and stir in the rum. Set aside.

To assemble the cake.

Split the cake into thirds (2 evenly spaced horizontal cuts). Brush the bottom layer with half the glaze and spread a layer of buttercream over that. Place the next layer of cake over that and brush with the remaining glaze. Spread buttercream over that and top with the final piece of cake.

Reserve about 1/2-2/3 cup of buttercream, and coat the cake evenly with the remaining buttercream. Sprinkle the Krokant evenly over the cake until it's completely covered.

Place the reserved buttercream into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip, and decorate the top of the cake with little circles. Place a cherry in each circle.

Tomato and Feta Cheese Salad

(2 servings)

This is a very simple salad I make whenever I find nice tomatoes at the market. Yesterday I grabbed a couple of blackish coloured heirloom tomatoes.

If I happen to have fresh basil or mint on hand, (which I didn't today), then I'll chop some of that up and sprinkle it over this dish.

2 large tomatoes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp green onion, finely sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/3 cup feta, crumbled

Slice the tomatoes and arrange on two plates. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and green onions, then drizzle the olive oil and vinegar over them. Top with the feta cheese.

Let these sit at room temperature (to marinate) for about an hour. Serve.

Deviled Ham

(about 1 1/4 cups)

I decided to make some deviled ham with the last bit of ham I had left after all, and it was worth it. It came together rather quickly.

1/2 lb ham, cut up
1/3 cup mayonnaise, (perhaps 1 tbsp more, check after you process)
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp cayenne, or more to taste
freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp green onion, chopped

Place everything except the green onion into the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Adjust for seasoning and add the extra mayonnaise if the mixture is too dry.

Add the green onion and pulse until it's just combined.

Matar Paneer, Peas with Cheese

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(serves 4 as a main course)

This is another one of my favourite dishes. There's an Indian restaurant near where I live and their version of this is very good, which prompted me to try out my own. Mine turned out a bit different probably because of the combination of spices I chose, but in the end I liked mine even better. :)

I decided to make the paneer as it's really quite simple to do and ends up costing less than purchasing the ready made stuff (if you can even find it), and I wanted to use hormone and antibiotic free milk.

paneer (makes about 1/2 lb)
1/2 gallon of milk, (I used 1%)
1/2 tsp salt
2-3 tbsp white vinegar
cheesecloth

Bring the milk and salt to a boil in a large saucepan, being careful not to let it burn. Remove from heat.
Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar and stir for about a minute until the milk curdles. If the curds don't separate enough from the whey, then keep adding 1 tsp of vinegar at a time until they do.

Place the cheesecloth in a colander over a large bowl (so you can reserve the whey)* and strain the curds. Pull up the edges of the cheesecloth and gently squeeze to remove any excess whey.

Place the cheesecloth and curds onto a large plate and weigh down the top with something like a heavy frying pan or cutting board. Leave this for about 2 hours, then either use the paneer or wrap it and refrigerate.

*I came across uses for whey at Chowhound . I added some to the Matar Paneer, and I'll use some for the rice which will accompany this.

Matar Paneer (can be made a day ahead and reheated)*
2 tbsp ghee, or clarified butter (or just plain unsalted butter)
1/2 lb paneer, cut into 3/4" cubes
1 large sweet onion, cut into quarters
2 large cloves garlic
2" piece of fresh ginger, skin removed
2-3 jalapeno peppers, seeded
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch or more of cayenne, to taste
1/2 6oz can tomato paste, (freeze the other half for another use)
3/4 cup plain yogurt
1 cup water or whey
3 1/2 cups shelled peas, (1 lb bag frozen)
1/3 cup heavy cream (optional)
salt to taste
small handful fresh cilantro, chopped

Heat 1 tablespoon of  ghee (half) in a large non-stick skillet and add the paneer cubes. Fry them until they are a light golden brown. Remove and set aside.

Place the onions, garlic, ginger and jalapeno peppers into the bowl of a food processor, and process until smooth.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of ghee to the skillet, set the temperature to medium-low and add the pureed onion mixture. Cook, stirring from time to time until it thickens; about 15 minutes.

Stir in the garam masala, turmeric, cumin, coriander, paprika, cinnamon and cayenne. Cook for another minute or two.

Add the tomato paste, yogurt and water or whey. Stir well then cover and simmer gently over low heat for about 25 minutes.

Stir in the peas and the paneer, and simmer for another 8-10 minutes.

Stir in the heavy cream (or more water or whey if the mixtures seems too thick) and the chopped cilantro. Bring back to a simmer. Add salt if needed.

Serve with rice and/or naan.

*This dish seems even better reheated the next day.

Rosace à l'Orange, Upside-down Orange Cake

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(1 x 8" cake)

Last month while I was making the Orange Tian for Daring Bakers, I kept thinking of this cake. This adaptation of a French dessert is also assembled upside-down. When inverted onto a serving plate it's a lovely looking cake topped with slices of fruit.

It's been a number of years since I made one and thought it would be nice to revisit.

I make a custard with cornstarch rather than the traditional pastry cream made with flour, and I make a buttermilk cake instead of spongecake; (I really dislike beating all those eggs over hot water). The fruit combination below is my personal preference. I imagine you could use mango, peaches, pineapple; really any fruit which slices well.

custard (can be made a day or two ahead)
2 egg yolks, (reserve the egg whites for the cake)
1/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
3 tbsp cornstarch
2 cups milk
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, salt and cornstarch in a saucepan. Slowly whisk in the milk. Turn on the heat to medium and allow the mixture to come to a boil. Continue to boil for another 2 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent the bottom from burning.

Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour into a bowl  and cover the surface of the pudding with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming as the custard cools; smooth it across the surface with your hands to remove any air pockets.

This custard will keep refrigerated for a couple of days.

buttermilk cake
2 cups cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter, (1 stick)
2/3 cup sugar
2 egg whites
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Prepare an 8" cake pan by coating it with a thin layer of butter and cutting a piece of parchment paper to line the bottom of the pan. Set aside

Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.

Beat the butter as you slowly add the sugar. Continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy looking. Beat in the egg whites, and when those are well incorporated, beat in the remaining egg.

Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture and stir until well combined. Add half the buttermilk and the lemon juice and stir that in. Keep alternating with the flour and buttermilk until they are used up and everything is well combined. Beat for about a minute.

Pour the batter into the prepared 8" cake pan. Bake for about 35-40 minutes in the centre of the oven, until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.

Cool the cake in the pan.

fruit
2 large navel oranges
1 kiwi
2 large strawberries
1/4 cup orange liqueur

Remove the peels from the oranges and slice them into thin rounds. Peel the kiwi fruit and slice those into thin rounds too. Slice the strawberries. Carefully place the sliced fruit (picking out the nicest pieces) into a shallow dish. Sprinkle the orange liqueur evenly over the fruit and and set aside.

Chop up any leftover/remaining bits of fruit and set aside.

to finish the custard
2 tsp gelatin
2 tbsp hot water
1 cup heavy cream, cooled

Combine the gelatin and water, stir until the gelatin is dissolved and set aside.

Beat the heavy cream until it starts to stiffen. Slowly pour in the gelatin mixture as you continue to beat.

Fold in the custard and up to 2/3 cup of the chopped fruit.

to prepare the cake mold
almond or canola oil
sugar

Oil and then sugar a 7-8 cup round mold. I used a glass mixing bowl. Starting from then centre, place the fruit slices, forming a pleasing pattern, reserving the orange liqueur the fruit sat in. You can overlap the slices slightly if you wish.

Cover the fruit carefully with about half of the custard mixture.

Slice the cool cake horizontally and brush both cut sides generously with the orange liqueur mixture.

Place one cake layer over the custard; I like to place the cut side facing the custard mixture to make it easier for it to absorb some of the juices. Cover that with the remaining custard and then place the other cake layer (liqueur side facing the custard) down.

Find a plate which fits slightly inside the mold and weigh it down with a few full cans. Place in the refrigerator overnight, up to about 24 hours.

When it's ready to serve, fill a larger bowl with hot water and carefully dip the mold into it to warm up the bottom (to loosen the cake a bit) being careful not to allow any of the water to get into the top and onto the cake itself.

Carefully unmold onto a serving plate.

Rouladen, German Beef Rolls

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(5-6 servings)

I have always loved these. There's different versions of this dish found throughout Germany, and they appear to be adaptations of a French dish.

This recipe is quite similar to my mother's. I think she might have also thrown a few juniper berries into the gravy (not very easy to find in Texas); I'll have to ask her about that.

I made braised red cabbage to go with these. Buttered egg noodles, dumplings or spaetzel go well with this too.

about 1.5 lbs of top or bottom round cut into thin slices.
2 - 3 tbsp German style (not the Bavarian sweet) mustard, Dijon works too
5-6 slices of bacon, cut in half
1/4 red or yellow onion sliced
about 4 small dill pickles, sliced
salt, freshly ground black pepper and paprika

2 tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup red wine
1.5 cups beef stock
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 bay leaf , halved

1 tbsp flour
3 tbsp sour cream

Pound the meat with a meat hammer to flatten as much as possible without tearing.

Spread about a teaspoon of mustard over each piece of meat. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika. Add the bacon, onion and pickle slices.

Roll up the beef slices and secure with kitchen string or wooden toothpicks.

Heat up the oil in a heavy saucepan or dutch oven. Add the beef rolls and fry until they are brown on all sides.

Arrange the rolls into a single layer and add the wine, beef stock, tomato paste and bay leaf. Cover and cook over low heat for about 1 1/2 -2 hours, (turning the meat over a few times) or until the beef is tender.

Transfer the rouladen to a plate.

Combine the flour and sour cream. Whisk in a few spoons of the hot liquid and, then whisk all of that back into the pot. Simmer for about 3 minutes until the gravy thickens.Check the seasoning and return the rouladen to the pot. Cook for a few more minutes until they heat through.

Traditionally, this is served with dumplings and braised red cabbage. They are also very good with egg noodles or spaetzel.

Rotkohl, German Braised Red Cabbage

(about 8 servings)

I'm not sure why I don't make this sweet and sour red cabbage dish more often. Aside from it being quite tasty, the colour is magnificent on a plate. I only make it when I make rouladen.

The bacon can be replaced with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. I used it simply because I had some left over from the rouladen filling.

4 slices bacon, diced
1 large onion, chopped
1 small head red cabbage (about 2 lbs), thinly sliced
1 cup red wine
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/3 cup red currant jelly
1 apple, cored and shredded
salt and pepper to taste

optional thickener
2 tsp cornstarch
2 tbsp cold water

Heat the bacon in a heavy skillet over medium heat and cook until the bacon is crispy. Lower the heat a bit and add the onion. Saute until the onion becomes translucent. Add the cabbage and apple, and cook for a few more minutes until the cabbage begins to wilt.

Combine the red wine, vinegar and jelly, and pour over the cabbage mixture. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 1 1/4 - 2  hours until the cabbage has softened to where you like the texture. Season with salt and pepper.

If you like the texture crisp and the liquid hasn't completely absorbed into the cabbage, then combine the cornstarch and water and add that to the cabbage. Cook, stirring for a few minutes until the cornstarch thickens the liquid and coats the cabbage.

Remove from heat and serve.